


Haematoma et Haemorrhagia

by Thette



Series: Caldarium et Frigidarium (Or: Give Barry a Break Already) [2]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Bruises, Canon-Typical Violence, Chronic Pain, Established Mick Rory/Leonard Snart, Established Relationship, Guilt, Hugs, M/M, Multi, Pre-Relationship, Shippy Gen, Touchy-Feely, Vacation, barry allen is overworked, mick rory and leonard snart are heroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 10:23:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17098829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thette/pseuds/Thette
Summary: Barry tries to enjoy his vacation, and at first, it seems like Captain Cold and Heatwave can handle the hero business. That is, until Grodd attacks.Seeing them bruised and bloody after the fight makes him question his choices. Mick has a few things to say about people who are willing to sacrifice themselves.





	Haematoma et Haemorrhagia

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Green_Sphynx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Green_Sphynx/gifts).



> This is the unexpected follow up to Caldarium et Frigidarium. I was happy with that story, and then I came up with a bit of a continuation, so it's a series now. A series that follows Barry on his enforced vacation from both CSI work and Flash work.
> 
> Expect irregular updates.
> 
> This one is written for the lovely Green_Sphynx, who writes the best smut, but is occasionally attacked by fluff bunnies. This is pure flangst, not a smut in sight, though. Happy birthday, Green_Sphynx!
> 
> Thank you, SophiaCatherine and Hiver_Frost_Elf for the beta!

The first day of Barry's vacation had been delightful. He'd taken a proper spa day, only checking in with Cisco at the end of the night. Apparently, the Rogues (other than Cold and Heatwave) were laying low, and no villainous metahumans had broken the peace. His temp heroes a.k.a. nemeses had spent the evening at Star Labs, provoking Cisco into yelling, but not hurting anyone or stealing anything of value. That didn't mean they weren't criminal: Mick Rory had stolen all of Cisco's hidden Red Vines, and Leonard Snart had learned how to hack into Sally the satellite. All during a barrage of never ending sarcasm and barely veiled, but mostly humorous threats. 

Barry didn't have it in him to feel guilty that first day. He might not deserve this vacation, but he'd been given it as a gift, and he wasn't about to turn it down. (Not to mention the very credible threat to his bodily integrity, if he were to do any heroing.)

The second day, he'd spent in bed and on the sofa, trying to read at a normal human pace and catching up on Netflix and HBO at merely quadruple speed. A slow day. 

Caitlin had called him, telling him to turn the TV on, and he did. Captain Cold and Heatwave were fighting Grodd, ending in a stalemate. Grodd escaped, merely a bit singed around the ears and limping from frostbite on the left leg. His own villains weren't as lucky. The camera crew zoomed in on Rory's bruised face and torso, the latter visible through his torn shirt. Behind him, Snart wiped blood from his mouth and nose, blood that had stained the front of his parka.

A wave of guilt hit Barry, like a brick to the stomach. That was his fault. It should have been him. He had speed healing, while Snart and Rory were just regular humans, and not exactly spring chickens, either. He wanted to throw up.

Behind them, a CCPD crew approached. Barry panicked. Not like this, not when they were helping him, doing what he should have been doing. He raced to Star Labs, throwing his burning clothes in a pile beside the cabinet and getting into his suit, all fast enough to let Cisco avoid seeing his naked form. "Bro, I love you, but ixnay on the uttbay," as he had said on one memorable occasion.

Once he was properly suited up, he ran towards the docks, where the fight had gone down. All in all, it had been about a minute since he saw the officers approach Cold on TV. Not long enough to read them their rights and take them away for questioning, but plenty of time for a trigger happy newbie on the force to shoot them. No bullets were whooshing through the air, though, and the heat and cold guns were silent.

Barry finally found them, and slid on a patch of remaining ice as he crossed the last bit of distance to the gathering of navy uniforms.

"Well, well," Snart said, "looks like we've got unexpected company.  _ Flash, _ " he over-enunciated the superhero name, with a lot more bite to the word than usual, "do you remember our agreement?" He powered up the cold gun, and Barry winced, a purely visceral reaction to that sound.

"Officers," Barry said, vibrating his vocal cords, "are you here to arrest these men?"

The guy in charge laughed, loud and boisterous. Barry remembered his last name, Shelton. "Don't worry, Flash. We're willing to overlook their history just this time, for saving the city. Damn, that gorilla can pack a mean punch," he said, looking at Rory. Barry looked at his feet, wishing again that he'd been the one to take the beating.

"I've had worse," Rory said, dismissing his bruises with a one-sided shrug. "Hey, Snart, you can keep talking to the... cops," Barry could hear both the disdain and the self-censoring, "but I'm gonna borrow Red here for a sec."

His firm grip around Barry's biceps, as he led him away, would have left bruises on anyone who could get them. When they were well outside of hearing range, Rory turned him around and held him in place, his left hand coming up to mirror his right.

"We had a deal, Red," he grunted, "and you broke it."

"I should never have left you alone to fight Grodd. I'm happy for your help, truly, but this," he gestured at Rory's obvious injuries, his whole body, "this is my fault." A large lump in his throat told him he was about to cry in front of Heatwave. Dammit. 

Rory squinted at him, tilting his head slightly. "Can't carry everything on those skinny shoulders of yours. 'S why we told you to take a week off."

"You're hurt!" Barry shouted, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Snart turn around to look at them. "I heal! I can take a beating, and run around the next day just fine. You're gonna be in pain for weeks, and it's all because of me. The deal is  _ off _ !"

"Hey, kid, if you wanted a spanking, you shoulda just told me."

Barry sputtered and blushed. No. Not happening. Not trading sexual banter with Heatwave.

"Just 'cause you heal fast doesn't mean you don't hurt," he continued, in an uncharacteristically  quiet voice. "Don't tell me you're not hurting from old injuries on rainy, cold days."

That lump in his throat, the one he managed to shout away, came back with a vengeance. He always ignored the pain, never telling anybody about it. It wasn't a constant thing, anyway. It came and went, unpredictably. He had more good days than bad. If he ran fast enough, connected with the Speed Force, he could ignore his entire body if he wanted to. He felt called out, as if Rory had shouted his secrets on the streets, when he had talked in nothing more than a whisper. He looked at the pyromaniac again, expecting mockery, but all he saw was an old, world-weary man.

"I can still feel O… Green Arrow's arrows from when we were training and he shot me," Barry murmured, studying the asphalt intently. "The first time I trained with Cisco and Harrison Wells, I broke my wrist, and Caitlin had to break and reset it twice, because it healed too quickly, and some days, I'm still not sure it's right. Zoom broke my back, and I still wake up screaming from nightmares about it, feeling every last crack of my vertebrae shattering. When it gets cold, I get a weird numb and tingly feeling across my chest, where Snart froze me to the ground, before we installed protection in the suit." The words kept pouring out of his mouth, and he was unable to stop them. He had never expected to tell anyone this, definitely not Mick Rory. 

"Told ya. Don't be so quick to offer yourself up like a goddamn lamb to the slaughter." He paused, and let his gaze wander over Barry from top to toe and back again. "I'm gonna go take a bath, get Snart to rub me down with liniment after, and watch some crap sci-fi. Snart's gonna be fine. He'll whine, but he'll get over it once his nose stops bleeding. Didn't even lose any teeth. And you," he poked Barry in the chest, "you're still on vacation. We've got this."

There was no judgement, no blame. Nothing about his  _ great gift _  or his  _ duty _ . Just someone who'd taken some hard hits in life, talking to someone else in the same situation. Barry felt fifty pounds lighter, like he was about to float away. He laughed, throwing his head back and letting all the stress out. He couldn't help it, he needed to just  _ touch _  someone to deal with this. Before his conscious brain had the time to register what he was doing, he had his arms around Rory in a tight hug. It felt so good, like he could take this joy and  _ share  _ it, letting his unlikely friend feel what he was feeling. Safe. Listened to. Light in body and soul. Warm.

Rory did not hug back, and Barry withdrew when he noticed. "Sorry, I…" he trailed off. What could he possibly say to explain himself?

"Didn't mind," was the reply, and an arm around his waist, keeping him grounded. Mick chuckled. "Snart's gonna have a fit, though."

Snart leaned against the warehouse wall, arms and legs crossed. The police had left, and he was alone. It did look like he was about to burst. His lips were tightly pressed together, his jaw clenched, and his eyes were nearly bulging out of his head. Why…? Oh.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you two were…  _ partner _  partners," he apologized.

Rory guffawed. "Sure, but that's not the problem." He didn't elaborate, just dragged Barry towards his incensed partner. When they were close enough that Barry knew Snart must hear them, he spoke up again. "Wanna join us for some B-movies? You can see for yourself that we're not hurt that badly."

Barry wanted to decline, he really did. He didn't understand what Rory was playing at, here. Was he trying to flirt and make Snart jealous? Was he just being friendly, and since when did he do friendly? Barry looked up at Snart, trying to suss out his reaction to this whole thing.

"I'm thinking Flash Gordon," he said with a raise of his eyebrow. He walked away without waiting for a response. The asshole. Barry laughed and followed them.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is what poor Leonard looks like:
> 
>  
> 
> [](https://imgflip.com/i/2pk305)  
> 


End file.
